Several protesting students have already seen their work permits expire, while others are expected to lose theirs by the end of the year.
The protests began in the last week of August in Brampton, Ontario, and have since spread to other provinces, including Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
In light of a housing crisis and growing concerns over inflation, the Canadian government introduced a cap on international student intake in January and further tightened it in September.
Additionally, in December 2023, the government announced that students with PGWPs expiring after December 31, 2023, would not be eligible for extensions.
“The protests have been going on for the last couple of months, led by various support organisations in Canada, said Bikram Gill, a former international student in Brampton.
“We are protesting on behalf of everyone because we want fair pathways to permanent residency and PGWPs.”
The PIE News spoke to another former international student, Mehakdeep Singh, whose PGWP expires in three months, stated he was set to receive his PR by April 2024, but the delays foiled his plans.
“The protests have been going on for the last couple of months, led by various support organisations in Canada
Bikram Gill, former international student
According to Gill, the need for PGWP extensions arose when the Canadian government’s bi-weekly express entry draw system for PR and the provincial nominee program in various provinces came to a standstill during Covid.
“Because there were no new draws during Covid, the Canadian government provided us with an 18-month PGWP extension, but our PR process was delayed.”
Singh told The PIE that despite doing “everything by the book”, many like him could not navigate Canada’s changing policies.
“Covid was a major disruptor which Canada is not considering. When I got my PGWP, I started working as a security supervisor but got laid off during the pandemic and couldn’t target PNP,” he said.
“Then I tried to go for the CEC stream, but the Canadian government suspended it for almost three years, and by the time I targeted PNP again, the government started prioritising healthcare and other professional workers.”
According to the protestors, over 60-70 individuals attend the protest sites daily, with 120 protestors gathering during the weekends.
Among the students at the Brampton protest was Arjan Singh, whose PGWP expired in August.
“The issue is that when we met the work experience requirement, the government raised the score for the express entry system, leaving us in a bad state,” stated Arjan.
He was referencing the scoring system that evaluates immigrants based on their skills, education, and other criteria, which the Canadian government uses to issue invitations for PR.
Jaspreet Singh, a community advocate leading the International Sikh Students Association NGO in Toronto, said he spoke with Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller but didn’t receive a positive response.
“They do not seem interested in our pleas, but we are trying our best. I will also meet with the Ministry of Trade and Investment. We are hopeful that they might give PGWP extensions to select trades, perhaps the ones in demand,” he told digital media outlet The Wire.
According to a report from the Indian Express, there has been a notable increase in the number of undocumented Indians moving to the US in recent months.
This trend includes numerous students who departed Canada after depleting all their legal avenues to remain.
According to the Indian Express, some 5,152 undocumented Indians crossed into the US from Canada on foot in June 2024 alone.
“We want PRs extended for individuals who will see them expire in 2024 and 2025, we want some new pathways, we want to stop the LMIA program since employers and consultants exploit us by selling cheap job offers, even the government is aware of that,” stated Mehakdeep.
Though Indian students make up the majority of international students in Canada, the numbers are expected to drop in the coming years.
While it has been reported that there will be nearly a 50% drop in study permits for Canada from India in 2024, worsening diplomatic relations between the two nations are set to impact visa processing on a large scale.
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